Livestock Hall of Fame ceremony honors long-time farm families

On this Veterans Day, we salute the men and women of our Military who served at home and overseas in harm’s way so that we can enjoy the freedoms provided under the US Constitution. We extend a BIG THANK YOU for your service. We pray for the safety and welfare of those in active duty in an increasingly tense and dangerous world.

On the home front, agriculture and agribusiness face a host of adversaries — decades of big-money attacks lobbed by special interest groups against modern farms and businesses. As a result, this adversity has forged a team of battle-tested men and women employed by our farm, commodity, and business organizations. They serve you well! Many wake up every morning figuring out how to run offensive and defensive plays against well-organized and well-funded opponents. These opponents have also begun banding together to accomplish their shared goals. Aligning of these special interests along with a tsunami of funding flowing towards animal rights, environmentalists, labor, and environmental justice efforts within our state is occurring.

There is incredible frustration within the opposition because even incremental Legislative victories have been rare for them over the past decade. They often turn to sympathetic regulating agencies and the courts for relief. In his letter below, NC Chamber’s Ray Starling explains a prime example of this.

You have seen the need. Your generosity through your organizations and businesses continues to fund outstanding research. Thank you for being so supportive of the NC Ag Partnership. We can’t say it enough.

The playbook is radically changing. North Carolina is on the national radar screen. Unprecedented outside funding is expected in our Governor’s race. Political consultants say that the sitting President’s reelection campaign has already booked millions of dollars for TV ad space. An emotional national issue can impact important state and local races. We must be ready to defend agriculture!

We can no longer go to our friends in the Legislative and Executive Branches and say: “This is good/bad for the farmer/businesses, so please support/oppose this.” Years ago, that was all it took. Now, with well-funded opponents and their extensive grassroots organizing, we must arm our friends with the research, education, and campaigning needed to support our asks. That is precisely why the NC Ag Partnership exists.

I know this system is expensive, and each of you has been very generous in so many ways. However, adequate funding to keep up with the opposition is needed. We must be creative and find additional partners to fund our efforts. Agriculture needs research, education, and electioneering tools ready to go. Adequately investing in these tools, coupled with the new ways to organize grassroots networks, will be far less expensive in the long run. Help us find new Partners. We are looking!

Now, on to a bright spot! A Victory that is off most people’s radar screen but vitally important for all of agriculture:

From our friend Ray Starling over at the NC Chamber:
Whether the North Carolina agricultural community knows it or not, the Court of Appeals handed them a significant legal victory on Tuesday. It did not come without a significant investment of time, money, and legal maneuvering. I write today to hopefully bring some attention to the outcome, and to shine some light on the work done by a few that greatly benefits us all. (Continue Reading)